Lifestyle
Neo40: A Natural Remedy to Treat ED
Ever heard of Stein’s Law? It states that if something can’t go on forever, it will stop. Stein’s law always wins. There’s no better example than erectile dysfunction (ED), when men who have always expected instant gratification, suddenly develop a headache at bedtime! This week, how a natural remedy, Neo40, helps this troubling disorder. And it’s available without a doctor’s prescription. It’s ironic that doctors have no trouble asking male patients if they’re smokers or abuse alcohol. But they’re uncomfortable when asking if they suffer from ED. It’s a problem that shouldn’t be ignored. Studies show that 50 percent of men develop ED during their lifetime, but 75 percent never receive treatment. Who was it that said, “These are the golden years”?...Read More
Gastroenterology
What You Should Know about Crohn’s Disease
How would you feel, at 18 years of age, if suddenly you were diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease (CD)? It would be devastating news. Unlike other well-known diseases, you would probably know nothing about this illness, and even its name sounds ominous. But you would not be alone. Crohn’s Disease is not a household word and, in spite of its importance, receives little in research dollars. Crohn’s Disease affects 600,000 people in North America. Normally, it strikes those between 20 to 35 years of age, with another peak in the 50s, but no age is immune to this disorder. And smokers are three times more likely to develop this disease. It shows no sex bias as it affects both equally. In about 20...Read More
Cardiovascular, Lifestyle, Nutrition
How to Fight The Deadly Trio
What kills more North Americans than anything else? It’s the deadly trio of obesity, diabetes and heart attack. Each is a huge problem by itself. But when lumped together they constitute three raging epidemics completely out of control with catastrophic consequences for patients and our health care system. But there are ways for smart medical consumers to avoid becoming victims of the deadly trio. Consider what’s happened in the last 60 years. When I was a medical student 5 percent of Type 2 diabetes, better labeled as lifestyle diabetes, was due to obesity. Now, numbers have reached a shocking 95 percent. The deadly trio kills by atherosclerosis (narrowing of arteries). The resulting decreased blood supply sends patients on their way to the...Read More
Surgery
Why Surgeons Need Cockpit Training
Would you buy an airplane ticket if the pilot refused to check his instrument panel before taking off? You’d probably would run for the woods, choose another airline or decide it’s safer to go by train. But a recent study shows that some surgeons are not following proven surgical guidelines for a potentially fatal operation. What’s needed? A big dose of pilot discipline. A study done at the University of Alberta reviewed carotid endarterectomies done in four western provinces. This study revealed that one in ten of these procedures should not have been performed, and 47 percent were done for dubious reasons. The conclusion? Surgeons needed “cockpit management”. Endarterectomy is a common operation performed to prevent stroke in patients who have partial...Read More
Gastroenterology
How to Escape Dinner Invitations
“Where do most hernias occur?” Ask this question and nearly everyone will reply that a hernia is a mass that occurs in the lower abdomen. But most are unaware there’s another location for the common hernia. It develops in the large intestine and can, at times, be a major problem requiring surgery. And one New Zealand doctor has a novel way to prevent this problem, known as diverticulosis. That is, if you have no desire to be invited to the next dinner party! Diverticulosis is the occurrence of small pouches that penetrate muscle layers of the large bowel. The majority of patients never know they’re present and problems rarely occur before 50 years of age. The most common symptoms are abdominal cramps,...Read More
Cardiovascular, Lifestyle, Nutrition, Vitamins
Waiter, Make Sure My Steak Moos only Once!
I’ve been told it many times, “One of these days you’re going to push your luck too far”. It’s because I stress to waiters I want my steak “blue”. The worst that can happen is it arrives rare. But what is the risk of a blue steak? And can well done steak be bad for the heart? No waiter has ever said to me, “You dummy, didn’t you learn in medical school that ordering a steak rare may cause toxoplasmosis? Go back and read about parasitology.” Toxoplasmosis is not a common household term such as measles. But if the parasite is contacted, it can cause enlarged glands in the neck, fatigue, fever, and an enlarged spleen. In rare...Read More
Cardiovascular, Lifestyle, Nutrition, Vitamins
Do You Want a Shock? High Cholesterol for a Longer Life?
A recent medical tip to readers sparked a quick reaction. It reported a study that those with higher blood cholesterol lived longer! This is contradictory to everything we’ve been told for years. The Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care reported research that will shock millions of North Americans who ingest, faithfully, cholesterol-lowering drugs (CLDs). Scientists analyzed the cholesterol level of 120,000 Danish adults residing in Denmark. They discovered men age 60 to 70 with high levels of blood cholesterol showed a 32 percent decreased risk of death. Women fared better with a 41 percent reduced risk of death. To add more injury to the cholesterol theory, these researchers also discovered that higher levels of LDL cholesterol, the bad cholesterol, was also associated...Read More
Cardiovascular, Lifestyle, Medicine, Vitamins
Stroke Update: What’s Missing will Cost Lives
Every year 650,000 North Americans suffer a lethal stroke, or one that leads to debilitating mental or physical problems. The American Stroke Association (ASA) has issued an important update on how to prevent this disaster for those who have not had a major stroke or a mini one. But why do prestigious university medical centers continue to make a grievous error that costs lives? Remember, you cannot change your family history of stroke, or your age. But you can change the odds, because 90 percent of the factors that cause stroke are controllable. So here are facts you should be aware of. Anticoagulants (blood thinners) to treat A Fib, an irregular heart rate, should be used more often, but have a high...Read More
Cardiovascular, Nutrition, Vitamins
Magnesium: Protection from Undertakers
In 1979 Dr. David Chipperfield reported a finding in the British Medical Journal, Lancet. He had discovered that patients suffering from angina pain had low blood levels of magnesium. Equally important, he found that by prescribing this mineral, often referred to as “nature’s natural dilator”, the spasm of the coronary artery could be relieved, preventing a fatal heart attack and ultimately, the need to call an undertaker. Today, doctors are often asked, “Am I taking enough or too much calcium?” But in my days of practicing medicine, I can’t recall a single patient who asked me the same question about magnesium. It’s ironic because studies show that many North Americans are not obtaining sufficient amounts of this vital mineral. This can...Read More
Philosophy
Living Will: Make It a Legal Document
“Eureka!” Finally, in 2015, The Supreme Court of Canada has decided unanimously, what it should have passed years ago. It’s declared that doctor- assisted voluntary euthanasia (DAVE) isn’t an illegal act. But this ruling is already facing opposition from a variety of sources. The perfect solution is to make The Living Will a truly legal document that cannot be contested. It’s been said that war is too dangerous to be left to generals. In this case, the court’s decision is too important to be left to the whims of provincial politicians who have one year to draft new legislation. First, in the interest of humanity, politicians federal and provincial, should quickly draft legislation allowing those who are currently terminally ill to have...Read More
Cancer, Lifestyle, Sex
“Darling, Do I Have Permission to Have Sex With 20 Other Women?”
Hmmm… Why wasn’t this study done 70 years ago when I was young with an abundance of testosterone? This was my first reaction to a report in the journal, Cancer Epidemiology. But for the Don Juans of this world, this news is better late than never. I’m sure they will be ecstatic to learn that frequent sex can decrease the risk of prostate cancer. But what will their bride-to-be say? Marie-Elise Parent is Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Montreal. I have not met her, but she’s been affectionately called, for appropriate reasons, “Madame Prostate”. She also has my congratulations for her unique research. So what’s the good news for Romeos? The Montreal study questioned 3,208 men between 2005 and 2009...Read More
Cardiovascular, Lifestyle, Medicine, Vitamins
A Shocking Finding About Aspirin and Heart Attack
Aspirin has been called the “One Cent Miracle Drug” for good reason. It’s the most widely used medical remedy in the world and available for over a hundred years to treat headaches and other pains. Millions take it to decrease the risk of heart attack and more recently, cancer. But how effective is it? And what is the recent surprise finding? In January 2011, the journal, “The Lancet”, reported data from eight studies involving 25,570 people. It concluded that a daily Aspirin decreased total cancer deaths by 24 percent after five years of use. Moreover, after people stopped Aspirin, death rates were still 20 percent lower for 15 years, largely for cancers of the colon, esophagus and prostate. Researchers also discovered an...Read More
Lifestyle, Nutrition, Women's Health
Weight Gain Is Contagious? And Snacking Fights it?
How many people in mid-life can fit into their wedding clothes? Not too many, because predictably, most have exchanged muscle tissue for body fat and more pounds. Now, a report from Johns Hopkins University claims there are proven ways to limit and even reverse weight gain in both sexes. Women, as they start into menopause along with decreased activity, develop what’s been labelled the “Menopot”. With lowered estrogen, testosterone begins to transfer fat from the hips and other areas to the belly. It’s not just a cosmetic problem, but one that can increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular problems. The Women’s Healthy Lifestyle Project studied 535 women between the ages 44 to 55 for five years. One group received...Read More
Infection, Lifestyle, Medicine, Sex, Women's Health
“DILI” Is Killing More People Every Year
North Americans must rid themselves of a major misconception. Too much Cabernet Sauvignon is not the only way to damage the liver. Today liver injury is being caused by prescription drugs, over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, and some herbal supplements. More than 1,000 drugs and supplements have been associated with drug induced liver injury (DILI) which is increasing every year. Everything we consume, with both good and toxic ingredients, are eventually filtered by the liver. This organ has great regenerative powers, but it is not indestructible. Moreover, advanced age and being a woman can decrease the liver’s ability to metabolize toxic products, resulting in DILI. For example, many people take Tylenol (acetaminophen). It’s an effective pain killer if label instructions are followed, but there’s...Read More
Nutrition, Vitamins
The Vitamin D Bandwagon: Is it Ahead of the Science?
Here are some of the 100 medical conditions that have been associated with decreased blood levels of vitamin D; arthritis, asthma, colon cancer, emphysema, dementia, depression, diabetes, coronary heart disease, fibromyalgia, hypertension, infections, multiple sclerosis, muscle weakness, obesity, Parkinson’s Disease and psoriasis. But how many of these links have been proven by scientific studies? A report from the University of California says most of them are the result of “observational studies”. This means that over a period of years patients have been followed to see whether low levels of vitamin D are associated with a particular disease. Many researchers now say the bandwagon of “associations” of vitamin D should be slowed down. The Institute of Medicine echoes this warning. It states the...Read More
Lifestyle, Nutrition
An Experiment that should get everyone’s Attention
Why would any sane person drink 10 cokes a day for one month? I recently asked George Prior, a Los Angeles resident and father of two children, this question. His straight-forward answer, “I want to increase the awareness of my children and the public about the dangers of sugar”. But how is Prior proving that all these colas are bad for your health? His experiment got my attention because I’ve stressed for years that soft drinks are a devil in disguise. The thing that bothered me was seeing obese children guzzling cans of liquid candy. Years ago I was having dinner with a former Minister of Health. During our conversation I mentioned that a 10 ounce cola drink contains eight teaspoons of...Read More
Miscellaneous
How Much Did You Learn in 2014?
Are these questions true or false? If you want to increase the chance of picking up an infection on a plane, ask for an aisle seat. A young woman who carried her cell phone in her bra developed a breast cancer that was the shape of her cell phone. Swedish researchers discovered that when they treated brain tissue of mice suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease with vitamin C, the amyloid plaques dissolved. A report in the Journal of the American Medical Association followed 1,774 heart attack patients. It found that there was only a 20 in 1,000,000 risk of a second heart attack during sex. DNA in the cell’s nucleus comes from both parents. But mitochondria are passed down by the mother and they determine whether...Read More
Cardiovascular, Lifestyle, Nutrition
Expert Says, “It’s The Worst Dirty Trick of Aging”
In 2014, how much progress did we make in the search for sound lifestyle? Many of us know it’s better to ask for low fat milk or eat more chicken than fatty meat. Some of us see the nutritional folly of soft drinks loaded with sugar, and that we should eat more fruits and vegetables. But a report in Nutrition Action Health Letter says some messages have not shown up on our radar. One - More of us now know obesity is associated with heart disease and diabetes. But many of us have not learned that extra pounds increase the risk of cancer. The Canadian Cancer Society claims 35 percent of malignancies are related to poor eating habits, inactivity and overweight....Read More
Gastroenterology
Take a Look Before You Flush the Toilet
Readers tell me they often discuss my column at dinner parties. But at this festive time of year I doubt that will happen with this column. Today, it’s Course 101 on Poop. So, why would you want to look into the toilet before flushing it? It could save your life. But it might also scare you half-to-death. A look into the bowl after a bowel movement has this advantage. Eventually, you learn that a normal stool is generally brown, usually the shape of a banana, and soft. This means you’re eating the right amount of fiber. Stools are about 75 percent water. And fiber, by holding onto water, makes stools as soft as toothpaste. But suppose the colour changes? A black tarry...Read More
Cancer, Heroin, Pain
Heroin for Addicts? Or Send Them to Northern Canada?
How would I react if I were dying of terminal cancer and none of the current painkillers could ease my agony? Or if I were suffering day after day the pain of crippling arthritis and no medication relieved my misery? And then I read that addicts were granted prescription heroin to treat their addiction. I’d be damn annoyed that this painkiller was available for addicts but not for cancer victims and others dying in pain. Several years ago I wrote that I’d send addicts to chop wood in Northern Canada. That would surely solve their addiction. I thought I’d receive a ton of mail calling me a “Hard-Hearted Hannah”. But the majority of readers were overwhelmingly in favour of this suggestion! Just...Read More
Eyes, Ears, Nose & Throat
Glaucoma: Could Low Blood Pressure be a Cause?
Three million North Americans suffer from glaucoma, the second leading cause of blindness in North America. Glaucoma has been called the “sneak thief of sight” as half the people with this disease do not know they have it. Now Dr. Patrick Quaid, Head of the Guelph Vision Therapy Centre, says that physicians treating hypertension must be cautious that blood pressure doesn’t get too low. Fluid is continually forced into the eye to nourish the lens and other structures. It normally dribbles out of the eye at a controlled rate through a narrow channel. But with increasing age the control valve of this channel has an increased chance of becoming plugged. This increases the pressure within the eyeball, squeezes blood vessels, and...Read More
Cardiovascular, Lifestyle, Medicine, Nutrition
Coenzyme Q10 Needed For 100 Trillion Cells
Heart failure is the fastest growing cause of heart disease in North America. What’s ironic is that the medication prescribed to prevent heart problems may in fact be causing weakened hearts and sapping energy from our 100 trillion cells. Today, with an aging population, old hearts, like old cars, can only travel so many miles before they wear out. But before this happens a car without gas comes to a sudden halt. Similarly, if the heart lacks coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), the gas that delivers energy to the heart’s muscle, it eventually develops congestive heart failure. For years doctors and the public have been told that cholesterol-lowering drugs (CLDs) are the be-all-and-end-all to prevent heart attack. But one vital point has not hit...Read More
Lifestyle, Miscellaneous, Nutrition, Vitamins
EP = a2 Has Killed More People than E=mc2
It’s been said Einstein’s E=mc2 (energy=mass x C speed of light squared) is the world’s most important scientific equation. Unfortunately it created the atomic bomb that killed thousands in World War II. But I believe my equation EP = a2 (extra pounds = atherosclerosis squared) is the world’s important medical equation. Regrettably, it’s killing more millions every year than E=mc2.Think again if you believe this is exaggerated. Consider human obesity. Nothing, including the thousands of books on weight loss and diet, has been able to stop the epidemic of obesity which gets worse world-wide every year. Nor does anyone have the solution to the problem of increasing numbers of people developing Type 2 diabetes. The U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...Read More
Infection, Pain, Surgery
Appendicitis: It Strikes Kings and Us Mortals
Today, surgery for appendicitis takes a back seat to bypass surgery, knee and hip replacement. But every day in North America at least one person dies due to an attack of appendicitis. This week, an unusual case of appendicitis. And how did England nearly lose a King? A report in the Canadian Medical Association Journal tells the story of a 15 year old Philippine boy who immigrated to Canada at age 11. For four months he suffered every week from abdominal pain. Eventually, due to increased discomfort he was seen in emergency. Physical examination and blood studies were suggestive of acute appendicitis, and ultrasound revealed the organ was swollen. Laparoscopic surgery was performed, the ruptured appendix removed and the abscess drained. The...Read More
Cancer, Gastroenterology
How to Prevent Dying the Tough Way
Humans are inconsistent when it comes to preventing cancer. For instance, I have often written that mammography, a popular test, is an inefficient and deceptive procedure to prevent breast cancer. Yet millions of North Americans never get the one test that can save their lives, colonoscopy. Large bowel cancer is not a rare disease. Rather, it is the second leading cause of death in this country. But it does not have to end so many lives because colon malignancy does not develop overnight. Colon cancer normally starts after a soft fleshy-like polyp forms in the large bowel. The polyp can remain non-malignant for years, but it may also develop into one that kills. Studies show that, over the age of 50, one...Read More
